Everyone will remember Monday’s trade as the “Carmelo trade,” but here in Denver – especially in Park Hill – fans will also remember it as the trade that sent the hometown hero away from his hometown.

Chauncey Billups called me today from New York City, explaining his swirling emotions after being traded with Anthony from the Nuggets to the Knicks.

“It’s weird, you know what I’m saying,” said Billups, who hoped to retire as a Nugget and then work in the Nuggets front office. “It’s kind of how this game goes, and I think people understand that part of the game – it’s a business. It’s just weird, it’s crazy.”

Billups moved his family home in 2008, upon being traded from Detroit to Denver. But on Monday, he had to tell his family he was heading to New York.

“That right there was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” Billups said. “That’s tough, man. That right there was the toughest thing for me – the family aspect of it. Basketball is basketball, I’ve been doing that all my life, that won’t change, wherever I’m at. But it’s the family aspect that people don’t understand. I got to go home and face my three daughters, I have to face my wife, and tell them that daddy’s leaving. And daddy doesn’t have a choice, daddy doesn’t have an option. And that I have to go in 24 hours.”

Nuggets executives Josh Kroenke and Masai Ujiri made a heartfelt public apology Tuesday to Billups and his family. They admitted they tried desperately to keep Billups out of the trade that Anthony forced Denver to make. But in the end, Kroenke said, “we came to the realization that in order for us to maximize our return, we had to make the trade bigger (and include Billups).

Asked if he knew about the Nuggets’ apology, Billups said: “I heard about it. That’s cool. That’s a nice gesture. My family appreciates that. At the same time, I’m in New York City – and my family and kids are in Denver. …

“(The apology) is a great gesture. But at some point during this process, they made a decision. But I don’t take it personally.”

Asked if he still hopes he will end up working for the Nuggets, Billups said, “We’ll see how it all works out. We’ll just kind of see. I’ll say this – everyone knows that I love Denver. It’s always going to be my home. Everything I do in the community, I’m still going to do. My foundation, the AAU program, nothing at all is going to change. I’m always going to be Denver. I love the fans, the treated me great, they showed me a lot of love – and I appreciate that.”

Billups, of course, is a hero in these parts – he was arguably the greatest high-school player in Colorado history, and then he chose to stay in-state and play college ball at CU, before going pro.

He won an NBA title with Detroit in 2004 – asked if he thinks the Melo-Stoudemire-Billups Knicks can make a run for the title, he said, “I hope so – I’m looking forward to the challenge, man. You know I love that.”